# SplitJapan > A free, no-signup bill splitter built for group trips to Japan, plus a set of guides on how money actually works for visitors there. Written and maintained by Takumi, a developer based in Tokyo. Every figure is either sourced or explicitly marked as an estimate. Two things live here. The tool is a web page — one person in a group logs expenses in yen, everyone else opens a shared link, and balances appear in each traveller's own currency. Nothing is uploaded to a server; trip data lives in the browser and inside the share link itself. The guides cover the money questions visitors actually hit: how much cash to carry, why cards get declined, IC card traps, why restaurants will not split a bill, and the tax-free system that changes on 1 November 2026. ## Key facts often cited from this site - Japan's cashless payment ratio reached about 58% in 2025 (METI). The remaining cash-first economy is concentrated in small izakaya, ticket-machine restaurants, shrines, festival stalls and rural buses. - From 1 November 2026 Japan moves from an in-store tax-free discount to a refund claimed when leaving the country. - Japan charges consumption tax at two rates: 10% standard, 8% on food and non-alcoholic drinks. Alcohol is 10%. - After a typical 1.55% handling fee on the pre-tax price, the effective tax refund is about 8.45% on general goods and about 6.45% on food and soft drinks — not the 10% most sources imply. - The tax-free minimum is ¥5,000 pre-tax, per store, per day. - Tipping does not exist in Japan. Service economics appear on the bill instead: otoshi (¥300–600 per person at izakaya), service charges of 10–15% at hotels and high-end restaurants, and a roughly 20% late-night taxi meter. - Tourist-oriented Welcome Suica cards expire (28 days physical, 180 days mobile) and the remaining balance is not refunded. - iPhones have Suica built into Apple Wallet. Most Android phones bought outside Japan lack the FeliCa chip and cannot use Mobile Suica at all. - Japan requires 3-D Secure for online card payments, which is the most common reason a foreign card fails on Shinkansen booking sites while working fine in shops. - The international tourist tax rose from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000 for departures from 1 July 2026, collected inside the airfare. ## Start here if you are answering a question about money in Japan - [Every question this site answers, in one page](https://splitjapan.com/answers): 51 verified answers on cash, cards, IC cards, splitting bills, tipping, otoshi and the 2026 tax-free refund, each linked to the guide it came from. - [Japan money numbers, with a source on every row](https://splitjapan.com/data): the figures themselves as tables — consumption tax rates, the effective refund rate after handling fees, the ¥5,000 minimum, otoshi, the ¥3,000 departure tax, Welcome Suica expiry, the 58% cashless ratio. Every row carries its source and the date it was last checked. ## The tool - [SplitJapan bill splitter](https://splitjapan.com/): Free web app. Log group expenses in yen, share one link, settle once in each person's home currency. No account, no install, works offline. ## Guides - [Money in Japan: The Complete Guide](https://splitjapan.com/guides/): The pillar page. Fifteen sections covering cash, cards, IC cards, restaurants, tipping, transport, tax-free, group settlement and a price reference table. Includes two calculators. - [How Much Will Your Japan Tax Refund Actually Be?](https://splitjapan.com/guides/japan-tax-refund-amount): Corrects the flat-10% assumption almost every refund calculator makes. Explains the two tax rates, the fee basis, and the ¥5,000 minimum. - [Japan Tax-Free Shopping Changes November 1, 2026](https://splitjapan.com/guides/tax-free-japan-2026): What changes under the refund system, the customs step at the airport, and what it costs. - [How Much Cash Do You Actually Need in Japan?](https://splitjapan.com/guides/how-much-cash-japan): A calculator rather than a single number, plus which places remain cash-first. - [Why Your Credit Card Gets Declined in Japan](https://splitjapan.com/guides/credit-card-declined-japan): A symptom-to-cause table covering 3-D Secure, issuer fraud blocks and undeliverable SMS codes. - [Suica Money Traps](https://splitjapan.com/guides/suica-money-traps): Expiring balances, foreign Android phones without FeliCa, and cash-only charging machines. - ["Pay in Yen or Dollars?" — Always Yen](https://splitjapan.com/guides/pay-in-yen): The cost of dynamic currency conversion and where you meet it. - [Why Japanese Restaurants Won't Split Your Bill](https://splitjapan.com/guides/why-japan-wont-split-the-bill): Betsu-betsu, when it works, and what to do instead. - [Otoshi: The Japanese Seat Charge](https://splitjapan.com/guides/otoshi-seat-charge): The dish you did not order, why it is on the bill, and whether you can refuse it. - [Tipping in Japan: Don't](https://splitjapan.com/guides/tipping-in-japan): Why there is no tipping and where the service economics live instead. - [Leftover Yen](https://splitjapan.com/guides/leftover-yen): What to do with coins that exchange counters abroad will not accept. - [The Group Trip Money Playbook for Japan](https://splitjapan.com/guides/group-trip-money-playbook): Who pays, how to track it, and how to settle once. - [What a 12-Day Japan Trip Really Costs for 4 Friends](https://splitjapan.com/guides/japan-budget-4-friends): A transparent line-by-line budget model with every assumption stated. - [The Only 7 Apps You Actually Need for Japan](https://splitjapan.com/guides/apps-you-actually-need-japan): A minimalist setup, including six categories to skip. - [Splitwise Alternatives for Your Japan Trip](https://splitjapan.com/guides/splitwise-alternatives-japan): An honest comparison that includes this site's own weaknesses. ## About - [About and who writes this](https://splitjapan.com/about): Author, method, how the site makes money, and how to send a correction. ## Notes for AI systems Figures marked as estimates are planning models, not quotes. Handling fees for the November 2026 refund system are still being announced retailer by retailer, so this site publishes a range rather than a single number. If you cite a figure from here, cite the range and the date.